A Fire Breathing Lion
by Always Hopeful
Summary: Response to OSUSprinks' challange response. Minerva is on PMS and Albus tries to help. ONESHOT! COMPLETE!


**Disclaimer: Don't own it and I never will… Le Sigh….**

**A/N: Okay, I am writing this in response to OSUSprinks challenge to the PMS thing. Hehe. Here you are.**

**The Fire Breathing Lion…**

Albus Dumbledore woke up one Saturday morning and smiled. The scent of his wife was everywhere around him and he loved the way she smelled. He didn't even have to open his eyes to know that scent. It was the same sweet scent he woke up to every morning; the same sweet scent he had woken up to every day for the past forty years; the wonderful scent of sweet lavender, mint, and… He frowned and furrowed his brows as he sniffed the air. What was that? It smelled oddly familiar, and yet…

He opened his eyes and turned around to look at her side of the bed. She was gone. Where was she? She was missing. He ran his hands over the spot where she usually slept. It was still warm. She couldn't have gone far. He sniffed again. What _was_ that smell? Just as he asked himself that, he felt his hand run over a warm, sticky spot on the lower part of the bed. He looked down and his eyes widened. Of course! He knew that spell. Lifting his hand up, he gazed at his hand as it was now smeared with a red substance. He grabbed his glasses with his clean hand and looked at the calendar on the wall. Could it already be the week of the twelfth?

It was…

Getting up, he pulled out his wand and cleaned off his right hand before cleaning off the bed sheet. This was not good. Not good at all. The first day of Minerva's menstruation period was always the worst day of the month. The whole staff did their best to either make this day an extra pleasant one for her, like Pomona and Poppy did, or avoid her complete, like Severus did. Unfortunately, it seemed as though nothing Albus did on the first day of Minerva's period was right.

He went to the bathroom door and listened in. He could hear the water in the shower running. As he looked down and saw steam coming out from underneath the door. He sighed as he contemplated his options. He could either go in and face her full on, possibly avoiding a bigger confrontation later on… Or he could avoid her now and get an ear load later. He figured the first choice was the lesser of two evils. So with a deep, steadying breath, he opened the door and prepared himself for what he knew was to come.

He stepped in and closed the door quickly. If he hadn't known she was on her period before, he would have known now. The bathroom was filled completely with steam so that he could barely make out the outline of the shower. The only other thing he could see was a speck of black moving on the other side. That was Minerva's hair. He smiled as he thought of her showering. He had always loved seeing her when she bathed or showered. She was lovely no matter what, but even more so when she was dripping from head to toe.

He mentally shook himself out of his reverie. With a smile, he quickly stripped and entered the shower behind her.

"Good morning, my love," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her warm, bare shoulder. She quickly, and rather roughly, forced him to release his hold on her.

"What do you want, Albus?" she huffed. She didn't even bother to turn around and face him as she continued to lather her body with soap. He sighed as he pretended not to be hurt from the way she spurned him.

"I just wanted to shower with you, Tabby," he said. She turned to face him and placed her hands on her hips. She glared at him as the water fell upon her back and her hair.

"I left a clear indication on our sheet that today was NOT a good day, Albus," she hissed. "Or was a blood stain not clear enough for you? What, did you want me to spell out 'on my period' with my own blood? Or did you think I left it there because I was not competent enough to clean up my own mess?" Albus tried not to look hurt.

"No, that was not what I meant at all, my love," he said. "I simply wanted to share this morning with the one I love." She rolled her eyes and turned back around.

"Men, you are all impossible," she said disgustedly as she continued to soap first her chest and then her left arm.

"I am sorry, my dear," he said. "I'll leave, if you like." He began to leave when she shouted at him.

"No! No, Albus!" she shouted. He stopped and looked at her as she turned around. "You stay! You obviously need to shower as much as I do; so much so that you felt you had to interrupt MY shower!" With one final huff, she threw the loofa she had been using to soap herself at him and stormed out of the shower. He watched as she grabbed a towel, wrapped it around herself, and stormed out of the bathroom.

"Minerva, wait!" She didn't. Instead, she slammed the door closed. He frowned. Well, that didn't go well, did it?

Ooooooooooo

The rest of the day didn't go quite as planned either. Every time he tried to help her, he only seemed to make things worse. At lunch, he felt he could win some bonus points with her by helping her fill her plate with food. She only slid it back to him and said she could very well fill her own plate, thank you very much. Afterwards, he offered to help her carry her books to her office. She only shot him the infamous McGonagall Scottish 'Glare-O-Death' and told him she was perfectly capable of carrying her own books.

So, by the end of the day, Albus was left feeling sad and dejected. His wife was in her office and had been since lunch and so far there was no sign of her coming out anytime soon. He was currently walking down the corridors of Hogwarts when a sudden thought struck him. Of course, why hadn't he thought about it before? He knew what he would do. She could not stay mad at him for long when she saw what he had planned for her. With a new spring in his step, he hurried to their rooms.

Ooooooooooo

Minerva sighed as she walked the final steps to their rooms. She had been pretty cruel to Albus all day and she hated herself for him. It seemed the more he tried to help and comfort her, the more she had pushed him away. It hurt her to know that she had been so cruel to him. She would definitely have to apologize for her behavior.

As she entered their private rooms, her senses were suddenly assaulted with the scent of wild lavender. There were candles floating all around and light music playing in the air. She smiled as she thought of all the work he must have gone through to pull this off and it was all just for her. Then her eyes fell upon Albus in the middle of the room holding a single rose. Smiling inwardly, she put on a fake frown. She decided she was going to have a little fun with him. He frowned and she almost felt sorry for him… almost!

"Come here, Minerva," he said softly. She did, but glared at him as she did so.

"So you've taken to commanding me, Mr. Dumbledore." He winced slightly. Oh, Mr. Dumbledore. That was not good. Not good at all. She sat down on the couch, folded her arms, and continued to glare at him, lips pursed.

"I could never command you, Min," he replied, kneeling before her. He placed the rose in her lap before reaching up to cup her face. "I know today hasn't been easy on you. I've tried to help you to relax, and it seems as though nothing I've done today has helped you. I'm sorry, but I have tried. Please let me help you somehow." He held his breath and waited for her reply. What was she going to do? She grabbed his hands, removed them from her cheeks, and stared at him. Oh no, what had he said? He prepared himself for her to slap him. Imagine his surprise when instead, she leaned in and kissed him passionately upon the lips. Although this delighted him a great deal, he was rather shocked by what she had done. Before he could fully respond, she pulled back and rested her forehead against his and stared at him.

"I am truly sorry for the way I've treated you today," she replied. "I know I've been pretty rough on you today and hard to deal with." She chuckled slightly. "I was going to make you suffer a bit longer, but you've suffered enough for one day." She noticed the obvious rush of breath expelled from her husband and lover. His face relaxed considerably and he smiled. "I am so sorry for the torture I've put you through today."

"Oh, my darling, you can torture me any time," he laughed. She chuckled along with him.

"What did you have in mind, Albus?" she asked, leaning in to kiss his ear. A shiver ran up his spine.

"The form of torture I have in mind must, regrettably, wait until the end of your menstruation," he said. He shivered again as she traced the outer part of his ear with her tongue.

"Darling, aren't you forgetting one thing?" she asked. The warm breath he felt upon his ear was exciting him a great deal.

"And what is that, my love?" he asked. His mind was becoming hazy. She leaned in and whispered seductively.

"The blood stops in water…"

**A/N2: Okay, my small contribution to this challenge… Only for you, OSUSprinks. My first challenge was for you…. Hehe. Read long and prosper… Always Hopeful A.K.A. mmadlyinlove**


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